Doesn't mean I want to live in a chai-less existance for the rest of eternity though.

CHAI SOMEONE ELSE MAKES

Phase 1 of "I'm chai-ing to keep this tea-romance thing i've got going on alive" - get a latte

One of the best decisions in the battle to keep the chai-romance alive at home is to find a place that makes a chai latte that is not made out of sugar syrup.

I tried out Le Marche St George and came across the conundrum that I needed another cup of coffee due to it being the morning but I was also only there to try the chai. How many fluids + time does person have room for?

Solution: a cup of espresso + a chai latte.

The chai latte was made with almond milk, which normally I hate but in this case I thought it was really nice. The tea was super heavy on the pepper but was definitely not a syrup and was served in a beautiful enough cup that I felt some romantic pining could be done rather unabashedly. They also offer a sweet, instead of a spicy chai I will try next time.

PHASE 2 OF "I'M CHAI-ING TO KEEP THIS TEA-ROMANCE THING I'VE GOT GOING ON ALIVE" - buy a jar of chai for home use

I brought home a jar of the spicy Aslan Chai, hand ground and packaged in East Vancouver.

Pssst the "spice" is black pepper.

It's got a long zing on the pallet.

Aslan Chai suggests that you make it in boiling milk and strain it after, but I am currently seive-less (and milk-less) so I made it in vanilla cashew milk and put it into a tea filter bag and boiled a small pot. Certainly not as authentic, but so non-messy its tempting to keep using this method. I liked it quite a bit but Reema wasn't the biggest fan. She didn't like the pepper.

Phase 3 is all about Reema, by the way.

Chai You Make

PHASE 3 OF "I'M CHAI-ING TO KEEP THIS TEA-ROMANCE THING I'VE GOT GOING ON ALIVE" -bribe your friend with donuts + get her to teach you how she was raised to make chai using her mom's recipe

Reema is a wonderful friend + was a wonderful resource for my trip to India.

At one point Kyle + I had really messed up the train and she gave us the name of an uncle who might be able to pull some strings for us. We didn't take advantage but it was nice to know we were sort of "Indian insiders."

My generous-spirit friend brought me a bag each of cardamom + fennel + cloves + a small carton of 2% milk (she was suspicious I might not have any real milk in the house, which I didn't) and after watching her what I learned about making chai is -

- the actual real way to make chaiisexactly the way I make everything,

which is, "ehhhhhh that seems about right"

+ maybe this is why I feel so deeply connected to chai + find it so romantic.

If I was a tea, 10,000% it would be Indian/Canadian chai from scratch. Not syrup.

Reema's Chai

Ingredients for one cup of chai-

3 pods of Green Cardamom

3 Cloves

Large pinch of Fennel Seeds

A cup of milk with fat in it- 2% or higher (the secret is it's got to be fatty or it won't taste as good!)

A cup of water

One tea bag of Orange Pekoe

A spoonful of sugar

Supplies -

Pot

Mortar + pestle (if you don't have one you can use a muddler from your cocktail cupboard)

Sieve

Instructions-

Crush up the cardamom + fennel + cloves in the mortar. The only thing that really matters for full crushing is the cardamom pods.

Boil it until it rises to the top of the pot, and then lift the pot up until the froth is gone.

Put it down.

Boil // pick it up

Put it down

Boil // pick it up

Put it down + switch off the element.

Apparently around the boiling time is when Reema + her sisters would get bored when they were kids + it would boil over and be a giant disaster.

So don't get bored.

Filter it into your cups + enjoy. With a donut.

My Chai

After Reema left I made a cup for Kyle but I fully Eva-d the situation and snooped through my house to see what else I could put in. I love a spicy chai and really love fresh ginger in my chai but Reema likes hers sweeter.

The rest is up to you- but could include none, any or all of the following- (and undoubtedly other spices that match these flavours- maybe try nutmeg or allspice? [the internet did not tell me about these + I haven't tried, but I could see it working, maybe?] ) cinnamon // ginger // pepper // vanilla // star anise // coriander seeds

and then just follow the instructions that Reema gave me about grinding and boiling etc.

Remember how I said I was sieve-less? Well when Reema was here we used our Chemex coffee maker and it worked alright. But when I made chai for Kyle I tried the Chemex method again but it didn't work at all, so I used a cheese grater.

A. Cheese. Grater.

GUYS I HAVE NO CLASS LETS MOVE ON.

It was messy but effective.

Maybe in another life I wouldn't so much be the chai itself, but an alternative messy + effective method of straining the chai.

Guys. I just concluded that my spiritis a Macgyvered cheese grater sieve for chai.

Kyle loved it but I'm going to do even more spices next time + brew it for longer. Maybe 15 minutes or so on a low simmer.

There's something very satisfying about making your own chai. Searching the cupboards and throwing ingredients in and tasting and imagining how you can change it so that it includes

what layers of spices you want

to be simmered + stirred

+ stirred

+ stirred

I hope you make your own + I would love to hear about your chai journey + what spices transport you to ... where?

I've been off in India, wearing a silk Kurta, wandering the crowded + colourful streets and coming to relax + cool off by the water with my cup of chai this whole time...

Fact: the best way to throw a dinner party is to get the guest to make the dinner. And when the weather is somewhere between wearing shorts + a parka a meal of a vegan ceasar salad + salmon + a light baked spring potato hits all the right notes.

I made the best hot chocolate in the history of the universe + you should make it too. You should also look at some pretty flowers + my dope nails. But mostly you're going to be needing to make this chocolate chai immediately.